A Riesling to Die

by J. C. Eaton

  The breezy sundress made me look like a wide-eyed ingénue and worn jeans with a top—any top—made me look as if I was prepared to pave the driveway, not enter into a partnership agreement. I finally reverted back to the one pair of tailored slacks I owned and a short-sleeved ecru blouse my mother would’ve considered stylish for any occasion. Naturally, the top belonged to Francine.

  To make the outfit complete, I borrowed gold stud earrings from Francine’s jewelry stash and selected a gold-plated chain that draped nicely over the blouse. I ran my fingers up and down the chain and stopped the second I heard a knock on the door. It was Theo.

  “Got your act together?” he asked as I let him in. “Curtain opens in half an hour. Here, Don made us banana bread with chocolate chips. Two loaves. We’ll be sure to offer Arden a big slice.”

  “Thanks. All I had this morning was a glass of grape juice. If you don’t mind, I’ll eat my slice right now. I’m starving.”

  Theo and I dove into the bread as if it was our last meal.

  “I don’t know if I’m ready for this,” I said.

  “You will be. By the way, you look great.”

  “Same for you. You didn’t have to put on a shirt and tie.”

  “I sure did if I wanted to convince the guy I was your lawyer and this meeting meant billable hours for me.”

  Theo got up from the table and looked out the window. “Showtime. Your guy’s getting out of his car. He’s wearing a peach-colored button-down shirt with a geometric tie. In case you wanted to know.”

  All of a sudden, my heart beat faster and, without realizing it, I had clenched my jaw.

  Theo noticed immediately when he turned away from the window. “Hey, he’s a paid lawyer, not the Attorney General. Get a grip.”

  “You’re right.” I walked to the door and opened it before Arden Grant had a chance to knock.

  “Good morning. Come on in, Mr. Grant. I’m Norrie Ellington. Allow me to introduce my legal counsel, Theo Buchman.”

  “Nice to make both your acquaintances,” Arden said. “I didn’t realize you brought your legal advisor or I would’ve printed an additional copy of the contract. I’ll make sure our office e-mails you another one today.”

  I smiled and pointed to the kitchen table. “That’s all right. We’ll share the one I have. Before we get started, would you care for some coffee? We also have fresh banana bread with chocolate chips.”

  Arden looked as if I’d offered him access to the United States Treasury. “I haven’t had homemade banana bread in years. Did you bake it yourself?”

  “No, a friend of mine made it.”

  I cut Arden a gigantic slice and popped a Dunkin’ Donuts K-cup in the Keurig. “I’ll get a coffee for you too. Make yourself at home.”

  “This is delicious. Simply scrumptious. By the way, was that a Nigerian Dwarf Goat I saw on my way up the driveway? I grew up on a small farm a few miles south of Syracuse. Anyway, my family had goats and one of them ate the embroidered Black Knight logo off of my school’s baseball cap. By the way, those goats tend to spit, you know. If you weren’t aware of it.”

  “Oh, I’m aware of it. The goat’s name is Alvin and he showed me that trick when we first met.”

  “We appreciate you driving to Penn Yan to meet with us,” Theo said.

  “Not a problem. Frankly, I was glad to get out of the city and away from my desk. Well, I suppose we might as well get started. As you probably surmised, Vanna Enterprises has a tremendous amount of clout when it comes to my firm. Between you and me, if they said jump, the partners would drag out a trampoline.”

  In that instant, Arden Grant went from the intimidating clout I expected to a down-to-earth normal human being. He explained every aspect of the contract using language that actually made sense. Theo and I only had to ask him to repeat something once. We hadn’t reached the point of “clarify” or “expound.”

  “This contract is a learning experience for me, too,” he said. “It was originally supposed to be presented by Eleanor Tavish, but she developed an unsightly rash from something she ate or touched and it put her out of commission for a while.”

  The way he pronounced her name made me think he was gloating inwardly at Eleanor’s demise.

  “Anyway,” Arden went on, “this partnership agreement is a bear. It’s a three-pronged piece of legalese that treats the transfer of your property as the capital contribution. That means the business, of course, with all of its assets and the property itself. We’ll need a complete financial disclosure before anything can be finalized. Naturally, Vanna Enterprises will provide you with their financial disclosure as well. Beyond that are the usual stipulations and considerations. We’ll go through those in a moment if you’d like, but something puzzles me. Perhaps you can explain.”

  I nudged Theo under the table with a light kick to his ankle.

  “We’ll do our best,” he said.

  Arden gave him a nod. “Vanna Enterprises has agreed to enter into this contract regardless of whether or not your winery is a liability. That means they’re willing to forgive and take on your outstanding loans and other financial obligations. Listen, this isn’t any of my business, and Eleanor certainly would be hush hush on the matter, but it’s been my experience that when one party is willing to do something like that, they have an ulterior motive. I’ll put it bluntly. Lucas Stilton and Declan Roth want that contract signed no matter what. They’re willing to make you, Miss Ellington, a full equity partner. So I ask, what’s really in it for them?”

  “You don’t know?” I asked.

  “For lack of a better explanation, I’m the contract courier.”

  “Hold on. You’ll need another cup of coffee and more banana bread.”

  I then proceeded to spill out the entire Atlantis-Disneyland dream the developers had nurtured.

  Arden’s jaw dropped and he slapped both of his hands on his cheeks. “Oh no. It sounds like Euro Wonderland all over again.”

  “You mean that giant European theme park in Lichtenstein? They own that?”

  “Sure enough. The very one. Once those two get an idea that takes hold, there’s no stopping them. Listen, I don’t mean to dissuade you. I could lose my job. So, this part of the conversation never happened, understand?”

  “Uh-huh. Absolutely.”

  Arden looked around, as if he half expected someone to be spying on us. “Let me reassure you, first, that as a full-equity partner, you stand to make quite a bit of money. I emphasize the word ‘quite.’ However, Lucas and Declan haven’t had a solid track record when it comes to bringing on other partners.”

  “What do you mean?” Theo asked.

  “They had a silent partner for the Euro Wonderland venture and when I say ‘silent,’ I mean ‘silent.’ The man was found dead in his apartment in Paris shortly after he helped to bankroll their project. Then there was the partner in San Francisco. A middle-aged woman who helped finance one of their upscale malls. She was found dead in her residence as well. In both cases, the deaths were ruled natural. Miss Ellington, two Latin phrases apply here–caveat emptor and caveat venditor. Let the buyer beware and let the seller beware.”

  My hands shook slightly and I became a bit lightheaded. “You mean—”

  “Precisely. Review that contract carefully. Scrutinize it. You won’t find any issues with it, I can assure you. My firm does impeccable work. But it’s not the contract I’d be concerned about if I were you. Needless to say, I’ve said enough.”

  “Thank you. Really. Uh, er, when do they expect a response?”

  “According to my notes, Declan Roth plans on securing the contract from you. You’re on his time schedule.”

  Terrific. Just like Sidney Carton’s wait time for his turn under the guillotine. “Can we contact you if we have any questions about the contract?”

  “Of course. My name and inform
ation are on the cover letter, but let me give you my card. It’s got my cell phone in addition to the office number.”

  I got up from the table, shook his hand and walked to the counter where Theo had put the second banana bread. “Hold on a moment before you head out. You should have this for your ride home or whenever.”

  I unrolled some aluminum foil and wrapped it over the existing plastic wrap. “It’ll keep better this way.”

  “Wow. That’s very nice of you. Are you sure?”

  “Perfectly sure.”

  Theo shook Arden’s hand as well. “We genuinely appreciate your candor and honesty. Don’t worry. The conversation we had won’t go beyond this room.”

  “Thank you. I wish I had time to stop by your winery for a tasting, but maybe it’ll give me an excuse to drive back here again. Some days I feel as if I’m tethered to the office.”

  Theo and I walked Arden to the front porch and watched as he turned the car around and drove away.

  I stood motionless for what seemed like minutes but it was only a few seconds. “My God. Did you hear what he said? That makes three dead people. Oh my God!”

  “Worse than I imagined. I knew you shouldn’t’ve gotten yourself into this. Thank goodness for Arden. He seems like a really decent guy. If you weren’t going to give him the other banana bread, I was.”

  “Yeah. Imagine if that Eleanor woman showed up instead. You do realize it’s too late for me to back down now. I’ve got to see this through. Especially now. Not a single doubt in my mind Lucas and Declan were responsible for Elsbeth’s death.”

  “Norrie, do you have a plan for your next meeting with Declan? At the very least, we can peruse the contract and find things we want changed. It’ll buy you some time.”

  I rubbed my hands together and stared out into the vineyard. “You got that right. Every second I have with Declan counts. I have to convince him I’m as ruthless as he and his partner are in order to get him to admit to the murder. Did that contract have a nondisclosure clause?”

  “It did. Vanna Enterprises is covering their tracks. How did you know about nondisclosure clauses?”

  “Fifty Shades of Grey.”

  “Say no more.”

  “Guess now it’s a waiting game.”

  “I don’t think you’ll have to wait too long. From what Arden said, the partners at Vanna Enterprises are eager to get their plan going. I can give that monster of a contract another look this evening after work.”

  “I really owe you big time. Arden said he’s having his office e-mail me an additional copy. I’ll go through it when it arrives. It’s not that intimidating now that Arden went through it.”

  “Good deal. How about we touch base with each other tomorrow?”

  “You’ve got it! Want to sit down for another cup of coffee?”

  “I’d love to but our tasting room will be filling up. I’ll grab the contract and be on my way.”

  “Hey, before I forget, please give Don a hug for me. It was his banana bread that got Arden to open up with us.”

  “I knew I married that guy for a reason.”

  In spite of consuming three slices of Don’s delicious bread, I was still hungry when it got to be a quarter to one. I found a foil packet of tuna, added some mayonnaise and dried dill and made myself a sandwich. I was still under Renee’s writing schedule and didn’t want to lose any precious time by walking down to the bistro and getting caught up with the goings-on in the tasting room. I’d do that tomorrow when Cammy and Glenda would both be in. I needed to focus on my work today.

  At a little past three, the phone rang and I grabbed it. It was John.

  “Is everything okay?” I asked.

  “Yeah, we’re about done for the day but I’ve got a question for you. Any reason someone from the Experiment Station, at least I think it’s the Station, it could be someone from Cooperative Extension, well, anyhow, do you know why they would be taking soil samples? Some of the workers spotted a guy with a soil probe at the far left of the property. By the time they reported it to me, he was gone.”

  “A soil probe?”

  “It looks like a golf club but it works like an auger. Goes into the ground and pulls up a thin dense linear sample. We’re continually testing for pH and chemical elements like potassium, calcium, boron, but why would someone else be doing that on this property?”

  “I don’t know. Did they cause any damage?”

  “Nah. Nothing like that. Listen, don’t worry about it. I’ll make sure to alert my guys to tell me if they see any more suspicious goings on.”

  “Thanks. Catch you later.”

  Soil samples. It had to be Vanna Enterprises. Chomping at the bit. I knew firsthand that soil really mattered when it came to growing grapes. Oddly enough, the soil from one winery in the Finger Lakes could differ widely from another only a few miles away. Something about glacial action and debris when the Finger Lakes were formed. I had to admit, I didn’t pay much attention to it in my geology class in high school or when my father pontificated about it at the dinner table. Francine, on the other hand, all but took notes.

  Maybe Vanna Enterprises was making sure they got the “good soil” since they were about to take the property in exchange for a new partner. Suddenly, that got me thinking. If they could take me on, could they get rid of me?

  In a half panic, I phoned Theo and got my answer. They would have to buy me out. It was clearly spelled out in that mammoth document. He suggested I write down any of my concerns or, in this case, genuine fears and we’d go over them tomorrow. That being done, I went back to A Swim Under the Waterfall, but I was beginning to feel as if I’d be the one getting soaked.

  My plan had to work. I had too much at stake. To add to my stress, the Fourth of July was only a few days away and I had to brace myself for that fiasco in the vineyard. God knows what Glenda had planned.

  When I went to bed that night, my mind was overwrought with smudgings, ghosts and thoughts of selling my soul to the devil.

  Chapter 24

  “Miss Ellington! Miss Ellington! Wake up!”

  For a second I swore it was déjà vu. The yelling outside my bedroom window and the pounding on my door. At least it was daybreak and I recognized the voices—Travis and Robbie, our vineyard workers.

  Please do not tell me you found another dead body. Why can’t anyone ever find buried treasure instead? “What? What is it? Who died?”

  Travis and Robbie quickly exchanged looks as they stood at my front door.

  Finally, Robbie spoke. “John and Peter aren’t here yet, but John told us to let him or you know if we saw anything suspicious.”

  I cinched the belt to my robe and brushed the hair from my face. “What did you see?”

  “They’re in the lower left vineyard now. Surveyors. Two surveyors from Carson and Minolo. Their truck is parked off the driveway. Are they supposed to be here?”

  “I didn’t hire them but I’m about to find out. Thanks for letting me know.”

  It took me less than five minutes to pour out kibble for Charlie and slip into jeans and a top. I was out the door and down the driveway like nobody’s business.

  “Hey!” I shouted from across the lower part of our road. “What are you up to?”

  The two lanky men who were standing near a tripod stopped what they were doing and approached me. They looked to be in their late thirties or early forties. Both had that day-old Brad Pitt growth on their faces.

  “I’m Ray Shultz with Carson and Minolo. This is Hank Watts. We’ve been assigned to survey this property.”

  “From who? Who assigned you? I didn’t and I’m the owner, Norrie Ellington.”

  “We’ve got a work order here from our company.” Ray fished in his pocket to pull out a piece of paper. He handed it to me and shrugged at his partner.

  “I didn’t authorize this,�
� I said. “Give me a minute.”

  The property information was correct and it looked as if they had acquired it from the assessor’s office. I read the order again and felt my face get warm. It was contracted by Lucas Stilton. He was moving fast.

  “There must be some mistake,” I said. “You have to leave now.”

  The last thing I needed was for John to find out Vanna Enterprises was surveying our property. This way I could tell them it was a mistake. After all, they hadn’t gotten started when Travis and Robbie saw them.

  “But—”

  “If we need your services, we’ll contact you.”

  “Miss Ellington,” Hank said, “our company has a tremendously long list of clients who need their properties surveyed. If we don’t do it today, it could take weeks.”

  “I understand. You’ve got to leave now. Right this minute. Our vineyard crew will be arriving any second and they need absolute access to the property.”

  Ray nodded and motioned for Hank to remove the tripod.

  My heart was beating a mile a minute as they loaded their truck and took off.

  A few minutes later, Peter’s white Toyota pulled up beside me. “Studying the vineyards again?”

  “Actually, there was a mix-up with some surveyors. They got the wrong address.”

  “Hmm, that’s ironic. For surveyors. They should’ve just used their own coordinates.”

  “Doesn’t matter. I straightened it out.”

  “Want a ride up the hill?”

  “You don’t have to take me all the way to my house.. You can drop me off in front of one of the buildings. I’ll head home from there.”

  “Sure?”

  “Yeah. This way I can say I got my morning exercise.”

  Peter reached his hand over the passenger seat and slid a stack of books into the middle console. I glanced at the titles—Vines and Wine, Soil Sampling Techniques and Spanish for Beginners. Interesting choices. Peter was probably trying to learn Spanish since we hired a number of migrant workers in the fall to assist with the harvest. In fact, that was probably the language tape playing in his truck the first time I met him.